Interchangeable electronic carrier tape feeder adaptable to various surface mount assembly machines

Abstract

An apparatus for feeding a carrier tape with successive sprocket holes and indexed pockets for carrying small components, and used in conjunction with various pick and place assembly machines for surface-mounting of the small components onto a printed circuit board or other assembly substrate. The apparatus has an interchangeable electronic feeder adaptable to various surface mount assembly machines and a set of height support adapters. The feeder has both a flip-chip and non flip-chip capabilities. The interchangeable electronic feeder further has a tape guiding assembly, an indexing assembly, an adjustable push-up tool assembly, and a flipping-converting assembly.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An apparatus for feeding a carrier tape with successive sprocket holes and indexed pockets for carrying small components, and used in conjunction with various pick and place assembly machines for surface-mounting of the small components onto a printed circuit board (PCB), the apparatus comprising: a. an electronic feeder which can be interchangeably used in conjunction with said various pick and place assembly machines;   b. a set of adapters for interchangeably mounting said feeder to said various pick and place assembly machines, each adapter having a first portion which is customized to accommodate one of said various pick and place assembly machines, and a second portion which is common among all adapters for receiving said feeder;   c. said first portion of said each adapter having means for establishing electrical and electronic connection with said one of said various pick and place assembly machines, and means for mounting and securing said each adapter to said one of said various pick and place assembly machines;   d. said second portion of said each adapter having means for establishing electrical and electronic connection with said feeder, and means for mounting and securing said feeder to said each adapter;   e. said each adapter further comprising internal means between said first and second portions for establishing electrical and electronic connection between said feeder and said one of said various pick and place assembly machines;   f. said feeder having a self-contained low-profile housing for housing a carrier tape guiding assembly, an indexing assembly, an adjustable push-up tool assembly, and a flip-converting assembly;   g. said carrier tape guiding assembly having means for accommodating different carrier tape widths, including a bottom support plate for receiving said carrier tape thereon, a side rail integrally formed with the bottom support plate at right angle, and a multiplicity of spaced apart spring-loaded wire guides attached to the bottom support plate and remote from the side rail for biasing said carrier tape inwardly towards the side rail but providing flexibility to accommodate different carrier tape widths;   h. said indexing assembly having a sprocket wheel with sprocket teeth adapted to engage said successive sprocket holes on said carrier tape for advancing said indexed pockets of said carrier tape to a push-up area, and means for driving the sprocket wheel;   i. said adjustable push-up tool assembly having a push-up pin mechanism for allowing transverse-position adjustment of a push-up pin, and means for actuating said push-up pin mechanism to push-up said small components one at a time from said carrier tape when a successive one of said indexed pockets arrives at said push-up area;   j. said flip-converting assembly having a flipping mechanism for allowing flipping of said small components, and means for actuating said flipping mechanism to pick up and flip said small components one at a time from said push-up area; and   k. a control means electrically and electronically connected to and controlling said carrier tape guiding assembly, said indexing assembly, said adjustable push-up tool assembly, and said flip-converting assembly, and means for switching between a non flip-chip mode and a flip-chip mode;   l. whereby when said electronic feeder is in the non flip-chip mode, the vacuum probe of said one of said pick and place assembly machines picks up said small components one at a time from said carrier tape when the successive one of said indexed pockets arrives at said push-up area or when said electronic feeder is in the flip-chip mode, the vacuum probe of said one of said pick and place assembly machines picks up said small components one at a time from said flipping mechanism of said flip-converting assembly.   
     
     
       2. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 further accommodating use of AC adapter modules for providing an alternative source of electrical power to said electronic feeder. 
     
     
       3. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said means for switching between said non flip-chip mode and said flip-chip mode includes a switch for switching said electronic feeder. 
     
     
       4. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said adjustable push-up tool assembly further comprises a leaf spring member for flexing in a up and down direction, a yoke member mounted underneath the leaf spring member, a positioning V-shaped groove member mounted above the leaf spring member and aligned with the yoke member for providing fixed orientation without rotation, and a spring clip, the positioning V-shaped groove member having a 8 mm location, a 12 mm location and a 16 mm location for receiving said push-up pin in a respective one of the three locations, where the spring clip retains the push-up pin therein, the yoke member actuated by a lever member which in turn moves the leaf spring in the up and down direction which in turns moves the positioning V-shaped groove member which in turn moves the push-up pin, thereby pushing said small components one at a time from said carrier tape when the successive one of said indexed pockets arrives at said push-up area. 
     
     
       5. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said flipping mechanism further comprises a flipping arm with a head portion, the head portion having a top side with two opposite tip receivers and an opposite bottom side with a central tip receiver, where each tip receiver corresponds to the respective one of said three locations of said positioning V-shaped groove member of said adjustable push-up tool assembly, the flipping arm swinging to said push-up area, so that a respective one of the three tip receivers picks up said small components one at a time from said carrier tape when the successive one of said indexed pockets arrives at said push-up area. 
     
     
       6. The apparatus in accordance with claim 5 further comprising an active tip and two dummy plugs, where the active tip is installed on the respective one of said three tip receivers of said head portion of said flipping mechanism and the dummy plugs are installed on the other two of said three tip receivers of said head portion of said flipping mechanism of said flip-converting assembly. 
     
     
       7. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said low profile housing further comprises means for retaining said carrier tape. 
     
     
       8. An apparatus for feeding a carrier tape with successive sprocket holes and indexed pockets for carrying small components, and used in conjunction with a pick and place assembly machine for surface-mounting of the small components onto a printed circuit board (PCB), the apparatus comprising: a. an electronic feeder which can be interchangeably used in conjunction with said pick and place assembly machine;   b. at least one adapter for interchangeably mounting said feeder to said pick and place assembly machine, and having a first portion which is customized to accommodate said pick and place assembly machine, and a second portion for receiving said feeder;   c. said first portion of said at least one adapter having means for establishing electrical and electronic connection with said pick and place assembly machine, and means for mounting and securing said at least one adapter to said pick and place assembly machine;   d. said second portion of said at least one adapter having means for establishing electrical and electronic connection with said feeder, and means for mounting and securing said feeder to said at least one adapter;   e. said at least one adapter further comprising internal means between said first and second portions for establishing electrical and electronic connection between said feeder and said pick and place assembly machine;   f. said feeder having a self-contained low-profile housing for housing a carrier tape guiding assembly, an indexing assembly, an adjustable push-up tool assembly, and a flip-converting assembly;   g. said carrier tape guiding assembly having means for accommodating different carrier tape widths, including a bottom support plate for receiving said carrier tape thereon, a side rail integrally formed with the bottom support plate at right angle, and a multiplicity of spaced apart spring-loaded wire guides attached to the bottom support plate and remote from the side rail for biasing said carrier tape inwardly towards the side rail but providing flexibility to accommodate different carrier tape widths;   h. said indexing assembly having a sprocket wheel with sprocket teeth adapted to engage said successive sprocket holes on said carrier tape for advancing said indexed pockets of said carrier tape to a push-up area, and means for driving the sprocket wheel;   i. said adjustable push-up tool assembly having a push-up pin mechanism for allowing transverse-position adjustment of a push-up pin, and means for actuating said push-up pin mechanism to push-up said small components one at a time from said carrier tape when a successive one of said indexed pockets arrives at said push-up area;   j. said flip-converting assembly having a flipping mechanism for allowing flipping of said small components, and means for actuating said flipping mechanism to pick up and flip said small components one at a time from said push-up area; and   k. a control means electrically and electronically connected to and controlling said carrier tape guiding assembly, said indexing assembly, said adjustable push-up tool assembly, and said flip-converting assembly, and means for switching between a non flip-chip mode and a flip-chip mode;   l. whereby when said electronic feeder is in the non flip-chip mode, said pick and place assembly machine picks up said small components one at a time directly from said carrier tape when the successive one of said indexed pockets arrives at said push-up area or when said electronic feeder is in the flip-chip mode, said pick and place assembly machine picks up said small components one at a time from said flipping mechanism of said flip-converting assembly.   
     
     
       9. The apparatus in accordance with claim 8 further accommodating use of AC adapter modules for providing an alternative source of electrical power to said electronic feeder. 
     
     
       10. The apparatus in accordance with claim 8 wherein said means for switching between said non flip-chip mode and said flip-chip mode includes a switch for switching said electronic feeder. 
     
     
       11. The apparatus in accordance with claim 8 wherein said adjustable push-up tool assembly further comprises a leaf spring member for flexing in a up and down direction, a yoke member mounted underneath the leaf spring member, a positioning V-shaped groove member mounted above the leaf spring member and aligned with the yoke member for providing fixed orientation without rotation, and a spring clip, the positioning V-shaped groove member having a 8 mm location, a 12 mm location and a 16 mm location for receiving said push-up pin in a respective one of the three locations, where the spring clip retains the push-up pin therein, the yoke member actuated by a lever member which in turn moves the leaf spring in the up and down direction which in turns moves the positioning V-shaped groove member which in turn moves the push-up pin, thereby pushing said small components one at a time from said carrier tape when the successive one of said indexed pockets arrives at said push-up area. 
     
     
       12. The apparatus in accordance with claim 8 wherein said flipping mechanism further comprises a flipping arm with a head portion, the head portion having a top side with two opposite tip receivers and an opposite bottom side with a central tip receiver, where each tip receiver corresponds to the respective one of said three locations of said positioning V-shaped groove member of said adjustable push-up tool assembly, the flipping arm swinging to said push-up area, so that a respective one of the three tip receivers picks up said small components one at a time from said carrier tape when the successive one of said indexed pockets arrives at said push-up area. 
     
     
       13. The apparatus in accordance with claim 12 further comprising an active tip and two dummy plugs, where the active tip is installed on the respective one of said three tip receivers of said head portion of said flipping mechanism and the dummy plugs are installed on the other two of said three tip receivers of said head portion of said flipping mechanism of said flip-converting assembly. 
     
     
       14. The apparatus in accordance with claim 8 wherein said low profile housing further comprises means for retaining said carrier tape. 
     
     
       15. An electronic feeder for feeding a carrier tape with successive sprocket holes and indexed pockets for carrying small components, the electronic feeder comprising: a. a self-contained low-profile housing for housing a carrier tape guiding assembly, an indexing assembly, an adjustable push-up tool assembly, and a flip-converting assembly;   b. said carrier tape guiding assembly having means for accommodating different carrier tape widths, including a bottom support plate for receiving said carrier tape thereon, a side rail integrally formed with the bottom support plate at right angle, and a multiplicity of spaced apart spring-loaded wire guides attached to the bottom support plate and remote from the side rail for biasing said carrier tape inwardly towards the side rail but providing flexibility to accommodate different carrier tape widths;   c. said indexing assembly having a sprocket wheel with sprocket teeth adapted to engage said successive sprocket holes on said carrier tape for advancing said indexed pockets of said carrier tape to a push-up area, and means for driving the sprocket wheel;   d. said adjustable push-up tool assembly having a push-up pin mechanism for allowing transverse-position adjustment of a push-up pin, and means for actuating said push-up pin mechanism to push-up said small components one at a time from said carrier tape when a successive one of said indexed pockets arrives at said push-up area;   e. said flip-converting assembly having a flipping mechanism for allowing flipping of said small components, and means for actuating said flipping mechanism to pick up and flip said small components one at a time from said push-up area; and   f. a control means electrically and electronically connected to and controlling said carrier tape guiding assembly, said indexing assembly, said adjustable push-up tool assembly, and said flip-converting assembly, and means for switching between a non flip-chip mode and a flip-chip mode;   g. whereby when said electronic feeder is in the non flip-chip mode, said small components are picked up one at a time directly from said carrier tape when the successive one of said indexed pockets arrives at said push-up area or when said electronic feeder is in the flip-chip mode, said small components are picked up one at a time from said flipping mechanism of said flip-converting assembly.   
     
     
       16. The electronic feeder in accordance with claim 15 further comprising a set of adapters for interchangeably mounting said low-profile housing to various pick and place assembly machines, each adapter having a first portion which is customized to accommodate one of the various pick and place assembly machines, and a second portion which is common among all adapters for receiving said low-profile housing. 
     
     
       17. The electronic feeder in accordance with claim 16 wherein said first portion of said each adapter having means for establishing electrical and electronic connection with said one of said various pick and place assembly machines, and means for mounting and securing said each adapter to said one of said various pick and place assembly machines. 
     
     
       18. The electronic feeder in accordance with claim 16 wherein said second portion of said each adapter having means for establishing electrical and electronic connection with said low-profile housing, and means for mounting and securing said low-profile housing to said each adapter. 
     
     
       19. The electronic feeder in accordance with claim 16 wherein said each adapter further comprises internal means between said first and second portions for establishing electrical and electronic connection between said low-profile housing and said one of said various pick and place assembly machines. 
     
     
       20. The electronic feeder in accordance with claim 15 further accommodating use of AC adapter modules for providing alternative source of electrical power to said low-profile housing. 
     
     
       21. The electronic feeder in accordance with claim 15 wherein said means for switching between said non flip-chip mode and said flip-chip mode includes a switch for switching said low-profile housing. 
     
     
       22. The electronic feeder in accordance with claim 15 wherein said adjustable push-up tool assembly further comprises a leaf spring member for flexing in a up and down direction, a yoke member mounted underneath the leaf spring member, a positioning V-shaped groove member mounted above the leaf spring member and aligned with the yoke member for providing fixed orientation without rotation, and a spring clip, the positioning V-shaped groove member having a 8 mm location, a 12 mm location and a 16 mm location for receiving said push-up pin in a respective one of the three locations, where the spring clip retains the push-up pin therein, the yoke member actuated by a lever member which in turn moves the leaf spring in the up and down direction which in turns moves the positioning V-shaped groove member which in turn moves the push-up pin, thereby push-up said small components one at a time from said carrier tape when the successive one of said indexed pockets arrives at said push-up area. 
     
     
       23. The electronic feeder in accordance with claim 15 wherein said flipping mechanism further comprises a flipping arm with a head portion, the head portion having a top side with two opposite tip receivers and an opposite bottom side with a central tip receiver, where each tip receiver corresponds to the respective one of said three locations of said positioning V-shaped groove member of said adjustable push-up tool assembly, the flipping arm swinging to said push-up area, so that a respective one of the three tip receivers picks up said small components one at a time from said carrier tape when the successive one of said indexed pockets arrives at said push-up area. 
     
     
       24. The electronic feeder in accordance with claim 23 further comprising an active tip and two dummy plugs, where the active tip is installed on the respective one of said three tip receivers of said head portion of said flipping mechanism and the dummy plugs are installed on the other two of said three tip receivers of said head portion of said flipping mechanism of said flip-converting assembly. 
     
     
       25. The electronic feeder in accordance with claim 15 wherein said low-profile housing further comprises means for retaining said carrier tape. 
     
     
       26. An electronic feeder for feeding a carrier tape with successive sprocket holes and indexed pockets for carrying small components, the electronic feeder comprising: a. a low-profile housing for housing a carrier tape guiding assembly, an indexing assembly, a push-up tool assembly, and a flip-converting assembly;   b. said carrier tape guiding assembly having means for accommodating different carrier tape widths, including a bottom support plate, a side rail, and at least two spaced apart spring-loaded wire guides for biasing said carrier tape inwardly towards the side rail but providing flexibility to accommodate different carrier tape widths;   c. said indexing assembly having means adapted to engage said successive sprocket holes on said carrier tape for advancing said indexed pockets of said carrier tape to a push-up area;   d. said push-up tool assembly having a push-up pin mechanism for allowing transverse-position adjustment of a push-up pin, and means for actuating the push-up pin mechanism to push-up said small components one at a time from said carrier tape when a successive one of said indexed pockets arrives at said push-up area;   e. said flip-converting assembly having a flipping mechanism for allowing flipping of said small components, and means for actuating said flipping mechanism to pick up and flip said small components one at a time from said push-up area; and   f. a control means electrically and electronically connected to and controlling said carrier tape guiding assembly, said indexing assembly, said push-up tool assembly, and said flip-converting assembly;   g. whereby said small components are picked up one at a time directly from said carrier tape when the successive one of said indexed pockets arrives at said push-up area or said small components are picked up one at a time from said flipping mechanism of said flip-converting assembly.   
     
     
       27. The electronic feeder in accordance with claim 26 further comprising a set of adapters for interchangeably mounting said low-profile housing to various pick and place assembly machines, each adapter having a first portion which is customized to accommodate one of the various pick and place assembly machines, and a second portion which is common among all adapters for receiving said low-profile housing. 
     
     
       28. The electronic feeder in accordance with claim 27 wherein said first portion of said each adapter having means for establishing electrical and electronic connection with said one of said various pick and place assembly machines, and means for mounting and securing said each adapter to said one of said various pick and place assembly machines. 
     
     
       29. The electronic feeder in accordance with claim 22 wherein said second portion of said each adapter having means for establishing electrical and electronic connection with said low-profile housing, and means for mounting and securing said low-profile housing to said each adapter. 
     
     
       30. The electronic feeder in accordance with claim 27 wherein said each adapter further comprises internal means between said first and second portions for establishing electrical and electronic connection between said low-profile housing and said one of said various pick and place assembly machines. 
     
     
       31. The electronic feeder in accordance with claim 26 wherein said push-up tool assembly further comprises a leaf spring member for flexing in a up and down direction, a yoke member mounted underneath the leaf spring member, a positioning V-shaped groove member mounted above the leaf spring member and aligned with the yoke member for providing fixed orientation without rotation, and a spring clip, the positioning V-shaped groove member having a 8 mm location, a 12 mm location and a 16 mm location for receiving said push-up pin in a respective one of the three locations, where the spring clip retains the push-up pin therein, the yoke member actuated by a lever member which in turn moves the leaf spring in the up and down direction which in turns moves the positioning V-shaped groove member which in turn moves the push-up pin, thereby pushing said small components one at a time from said carrier tape when the successive one of said indexed pockets arrives at said push-up area. 
     
     
       32. The electronic feeder in accordance with claim 26 wherein said flipping mechanism further comprises a flipping arm with a head portion, the head portion having a top side with two opposite tip receivers and an opposite bottom side with a central tip receiver, where each tip receiver corresponds to the respective one of said three locations of said positioning V-shaped groove member of said adjustable push-up tool assembly, the flipping arm swinging to said push-up area, so that a respective one of the three tip receivers picks up said small components one at a time from said carrier tape when the successive one of said indexed pockets arrives at said push-up area. 
     
     
       33. The electronic feeder in accordance with claim 32 further comprising an active tip and two dummy plugs, where the active tip is installed on the respective one of said three tip receivers of said head portion of said flipping mechanism and the dummy plugs are installed on the other two of said three tip receivers of said head portion of said flipping mechanism of said flip-converting assembly. 
     
     
       34. The electronic feeder in accordance with claim 26 wherein said low-profile housing further comprises means for retaining said carrier tape. 
     
     
       35. A feeder for feeding a carrier tape with successive sprocket holes and indexed pockets for carrying small components, the feeder comprising: a. a housing for housing a carrier tape guiding means, an indexing means, a push-up means, and a flip-converting means;   b. said carrier tape guiding means for accommodating different carrier tape widths;   c. said indexing means for engaging said successive sprocket holes on said carrier tape and advancing said indexed pockets of said carrier tape to a push-up area;   d. said push-up means for allowing transverse-position adjustment of a push-up pin and actuating the push-up pin to push-up said small components one at a time from said carrier tape when a successive one of said indexed pockets arrives at said push-up area;   e. said flip-converting means for allowing flipping of said small components one at a time from said push-up area; and   f. a control means electrically and electronically connected to and controlling said carrier tape guiding means, said indexing means, said push-up means, and said flip-converting means;   g. whereby said small components are picked up one at a time directly from said carrier tape when the successive one of said indexed pockets arrives at said push-up area or said small components are picked up one at a time from said flip-converting means.   
     
     
       36. The electronic feeder in accordance with claim 35 further comprising a set of adapters for interchangeably mounting said housing to various pick and place assembly machines. 
     
     
       37. A feeder for feeding a carrier tape with successive sprocket holes and indexed pockets for carrying small components, the feeder comprising: a. a housing;   b. means for accommodating different carrier tape widths;   c. means for engaging said successive sprocket holes on said carrier tape and advancing said indexed pockets of said carrier tape to a push-up area;   d. means for allowing transverse-position adjustment of a push-up pin to push-up said small components one at a time from said carrier tape when a successive one of said indexed pockets arrives at said push-up area;   e. means for allowing flipping of said small components one at a time from said push-up area; and   f. means electrically and electronically connected to and controlling said means for accommodating, said means for engaging and advancing, said means for allowing transverse-position adjustment, and means for allowing flipping;   g. whereby said small components are picked up one at a time directly from said carrier tape when the successive one of said indexed pockets arrives at said push-up area or said small components are picked up one at a time from said means for allowing flipping.   
     
     
       38. The feeder in accordance with claim 37 further comprising a set of adapters for interchangeably mounting said housing to various pick and place assembly machines. 
     
     
       39. An apparatus for feeding a carrier tape with successive sprocket holes and indexed pockets for carrying small components, and used in conjunction with various pick and place assembly machines for surface-mounting of the small components onto a printed circuit board (PCB), the apparatus comprising: a. an electronic feeder which can be interchangeably used in conjunction with said various pick and place assembly machines;   b. a set of adapters for interchangeably mounting said feeder to said various pick and place assembly machines, each adapter having a first portion which is customized to accommodate one of said various pick and place assembly machines, and a second portion which is common among all adapters for receiving said feeder;   c. said first portion of said each adapter having means for establishing electrical and electronic connection with said one of said various pick and place assembly machines, and means for mounting and securing said each adapter to said one of said various pick and place assembly machines;   d. said second portion of said each adapter having means for establishing electrical and electronic connection with said feeder, and means for mounting and securing said feeder to said each adapter;   e. said each adapter further comprising internal means between said first and second portions for establishing electrical and electronic connection between said feeder and said one of said various pick and place assembly machines;   f. said feeder having a self-contained low-profile housing for housing a carrier tape guiding assembly, an indexing assembly, and an adjustable push-up tool assembly;   g. said carrier tape guiding assembly having means for accommodating different carrier tape widths, including a bottom support plate for receiving said carrier tape thereon, a side rail integrally formed with the bottom support plate at right angle, and a multiplicity of spaced apart spring-loaded wire guides attached to the bottom support plate and remote from the side rail for biasing said carrier tape inwardly towards the side rail but providing flexibility to accommodate different carrier tape widths;   h. said indexing assembly having a sprocket wheel with sprocket teeth adapted to engage said successive sprocket holes on said carrier tape for advancing said indexed pockets of said carrier tape to a push-up area, and means for driving the sprocket wheel;   i. said adjustable push-up tool assembly having a push-up pin mechanism for allowing transverse-position adjustment of a push-up pin, and means for actuating said push-up pin mechanism to push-up said small components one at a time from said carrier tape when a successive one of said indexed pockets arrives at said push-up area; and   j. a control means electrically and electronically connected to and controlling said carrier tape guiding assembly, said indexing assembly, and said adjustable push-up tool assembly;   k. whereby the vacuum nozzle of said one of said pick and place assembly machines picks up said small components one at a time from said carrier tape when the successive one of said indexed pockets arrives at said push-up area.   
     
     
       40. The apparatus in accordance with claim 39 wherein said electronic feeder further comprises a flip-converting assembly having a flipping mechanism for allowing flipping of said small components, and means for actuating the flipping mechanism to pick up and flip said small components one at a time from said push-up area. 
     
     
       41. An apparatus for feeding a carrier tape with successive sprocket holes and indexed pockets for carrying small components, and used in conjunction with a pick and place machine for surface-mounting of the small components onto a printed circuit board (PCB), the apparatus comprising: a. an electronic feeder which can be interchangeably used in conjunction with said pick and place assembly machine;   b. at least one adapter for interchangeably mounting said feeder to said pick and place assembly machine, and having a first portion which is customized to accommodate said pick and place assembly machine, and a second portion for receiving said feeder;   c. said first portion of said at least one adapter having means for establishing electrical and electronic connection with said pick and place assembly machine, and means for mounting and securing said at least one adapter to said pick and place assembly machine;   d. said second portion of said at least one adapter having means for establishing electrical and electronic connection with said feeder, and means for mounting and securing said feeder to said at least one adapter;   e. said at least one adapter further comprising internal means between said first and second portions for establishing electrical and electronic connection between said feeder and said pick and place assembly machine;   f. said feeder having a self-contained low-profile housing for housing a carrier tape guiding assembly, an indexing assembly, and an adjustable push-up tool assembly;   g. said carrier tape guiding assembly having means for accommodating different carrier tape widths, including a bottom support plate for receiving said carrier tape thereon, a side rail integrally formed with the bottom support plate at right angle, and a multiplicity of spaced apart spring-loaded wire guides attached to the bottom support plate and remote from the side rail for biasing said carrier tape inwardly towards the side rail but providing flexibility to accommodate different carrier tape widths;   h. said indexing assembly having a sprocket wheel with sprocket teeth adapted to engage said successive sprocket holes on said carrier tape for advancing said indexed pockets of said carrier tape to a push-up area, and means for driving the sprocket wheel;   i. said adjustable push-up tool assembly having a push-up pin mechanism for allowing transverse-position adjustment of a push-up pin, and means for actuating said push-up pin mechanism to push-up said small components one at a time from said carrier tape when a successive one of said indexed pockets arrives at said push-up area; and   j. a control means electrically and electronically connected to and controlling said carrier tape guiding assembly, said indexing assembly, and said adjustable push-up tool assembly;   k. whereby said pick and place assembly machine picks up said small components one at a time directly from said carrier tape when the successive one of said indexed pockets arrives at said push-up area.   
     
     
       42. The apparatus in accordance with claim 41 wherein said electronic feeder further comprises a flip-converting assembly having a flipping mechanism for allowing flipping of said small components, and means for actuating the flipping mechanism to pick up and flip said small components one at a time from said push-up area. 
     
     
       43. An electronic feeder for feeding a carrier tape with successive sprocket holes and indexed pockets for carrying small components, the electronic feeder comprising: a. a self-contained low-profile housing for housing a carrier tape guiding assembly, an indexing assembly, and an adjustable push-up tool assembly;   b. said carrier tape guiding assembly having means for accommodating different carrier tape widths, including a bottom support plate for receiving said carrier tape thereon, a side rail integrally formed with the bottom support plate at right angle, and a multiplicity of spaced apart spring-loaded wire guides attached to the bottom support plate and remote from the side rail for biasing said carrier tape inwardly towards the side rail but providing flexibility to accommodate different carrier tape widths;   c. said indexing assembly having a sprocket wheel with sprocket teeth adapted to engage said successive sprocket holes on said carrier tape for advancing said indexed pockets of said carrier tape to a push-up area, and means for driving the sprocket wheel;   d. said adjustable push-up tool assembly having a push-up pin mechanism for allowing transverse-position adjustment of a push-up pin, and means for actuating said push-up pin mechanism to push-up said small components one at a time from said carrier tape when a successive one of said indexed pockets arrives at said push-up area; and   e. a control means electrically and electronically connected to and controlling said carrier tape guiding assembly, said indexing assembly, and said adjustable push-up tool assembly;   f. whereby said small components are picked up one at a time directly from said carrier tape when the successive one of said indexed pockets arrives at said push-up area.   
     
     
       44. The electronic feeder in accordance with claim 43 further comprising a set of adapters for interchangeably mounting said low-profile housing to various pick and place assembly machines. 
     
     
       45. The electronic feeder in accordance with claim 43 further comprising a flip-converting assembly having a flipping mechanism for allowing flipping of said small components, and means for actuating said flipping mechanism to pick up and flip said small components one at a time from said push-up area. 
     
     
       46. An electronic feeder for feeding a carrier tape with successive sprocket holes and indexed pockets for carrying small components, the electronic feeder comprising: a. a low-profile housing for housing a carrier tape guiding assembly, an indexing assembly, and a push-up tool assembly;   b. said carrier tape guiding assembly having means for accommodating different carrier tape widths, including a bottom support plate, a side rail, and at least two spaced apart spring-loaded wire guides for biasing said carrier tape inwardly towards the side rail but providing flexibility to accommodate different carrier tape widths;   c. said indexing assembly having means adapted to engage said successive sprocket holes on said carrier tape for advancing said indexed pockets of said carrier tape to a push-up area;   d. said push-up tool assembly having a push-up pin mechanism for allowing transverse-position adjustment of a push-up pin, and means for actuating the push-up pin mechanism to push-up said small components one at a time from said carrier tape when a successive one of said indexed pockets arrives at said push-up area; and   e. a control means electrically and electronically connected to and controlling said carrier tape guiding assembly, said indexing assembly, and said push-up tool assembly;   f. whereby said small components are picked up one at a time directly from said carrier tape when the successive one of said indexed pockets arrives at said push-up area.   
     
     
       47. The electronic feeder in accordance with claim 46 further comprising a set of adapters for interchangeably mounting said low-profile housing to various pick and place assembly machines. 
     
     
       48. The electronic feeder in accordance with claim 46 further comprising a flip-converting assembly having a flipping mechanism for allowing flipping of said small components, and means for actuating said flipping mechanism to pick up and flip said small components one at a time from said push-up area.